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MSU Recruiting Update - Big Dawg Camp Edition

By JLgrindin
Presswire
The summer months on the college football calendar have come to be known as the camp season. Football camps during the summer for college football teams have come to be used almost exclusively as recruiting tools. It's simple: get your top prospects on campus at the same time and have them bond so they want to all come to your school together. When a recruit makes their decision in January and February, it is often those relationships built in the summer time that carry the most weight. Each team host various camps for prospects, as well as for alumni and children during the summer, but each team has a camp that is for their top prospects and usually is the busiest and most important weekend of the camp season.

The Big Dawg camp is that camp for Dan Mullen and company.

Camps are vital for many reasons. A lot of times prospects who fly under the radar are able to emerge at camps with impressive 40-yard dash times and vertical jumps. A lot of times fringe prospects that may be on the cusp of an offer are able to perform well going up against other big-time prospects are able to break through and get an offer. Sometimes a propect who is considering the school or who has been leaning towards the school for some time is able to make a commitment public at a camp. Sometimes it is as simple as just getting a big-time prospect on campus and getting him more comfortable with the school. In recruiting they say once you get them on campus anything can happen.

All of these scenarios will be in play for Mississippi State at their Big Dawg Camp this weekend. Here's a list of potential camp attendees, who could stand out this weekend for the coaches, and who could even possibly commit. All this and more after the jump.

Potential Camp Standouts

1) Montreal Jordan - first camp showing this summer that he will be fully healthy for.
2) Dontrell Nelson - good camp showing at a MSU 7on7 camp in June. Clocked a 4.22 40-yard dash.
3) Quinton Lane - has shown well at each camp he has attended this summer.
4) Stacy Garner - has good athleticism for his size. Will be going hard to firm up his offer.
5) Jake Thomas - this one is simple, he will be the best OL on hand and his performance should shown as much.

Potential Offers

1) Tyre'oune Holmes - showed well in June and is still clawing for that offer. Would commit if it came.
2) Trae Collins - has performed well this summer in front of State and Ole Miss, and is wait and see mode with each.
3) Trey Bledsoe - recently picked up an offer from Ole Miss. If he shows up, it should mean an offer. He's that good.
4) Javancy Jones - at this point he looks like a Safety and plays like a Linebacker. Could play either on the next level.
5) Evan Osborne - former quarterback for his high school team. This summer was about proving he had the speed and athleticism to play safety on the next level. So far so good.

Potential Commitments

1) Montreal Jordan - has long favored MSU and might not commit on Friday, but this camp should be the tipping point in his recruitment.
2) Stacy Garner - if his offer is firmed up at the camp, he will likely go ahead and claim his spot in this class.
3) Jamaal Clayborn - He will be at Ole Miss on Friday morning, and if an offer does not come his way there, he should pledge for the Bulldogs. This is not because he favors the Rebels necessarily, just that he wants to consider all options before deciding.
4) Rod Crayton - State is able to be very selective when it comes to Defensive Linemen in 2013 after their haul in 2012. However, Rod Crayton has long favored Dan Mullen and company and he might be too good to pass up.
5) Jake Thomas - This has been a long time coming for Bulldog fans, and it may have to wait until Jake returns from a Stanford visit a week from now, but Big Dawg will almost certainly close out Jake's recruitment, as it was always known that Jake would find a home in Starkville.

Big Time Visitors

There is no sense in putting out an expected visitors list as it could change by the minute - however, Kailo Moore and Ashton Shumpert have confirmed they would be at the camp. Tony Conner has hinted he would be at Ole Miss and MSU, so we shall see with him. Cord Sandberg has said he will not be able to make it in. Deon Mix has been working the phones hard trying to get all the top targets to the camp.

Final Analysis

BDJ, at the link below, confirms 38 participants planning to attend Big Dawg Camp. In addition to those we listed above, commits Gabe Myles, BJ Hammond and Deandre Woods, among others, plan to be in attendance. Obviously the list isn't limited to the 38 confirmed - there will always be surprise shows and no shows. So goes the way of recruiting and any process that involves 18 year old's. Nevertheless, State looks to again have a strong showing at the camp, and hopefully add a few commitments to the list of 11. Who will commit? Who will stand out? Who will not come because their "ride" wouldn't take them there? We will find out this weekend. Should be a good one for State fans.

Big Dawg Camp Links

Previewing Big Dawg Camp - 24/7 Sports ($)

List of Big Dawg Camp participants - BDJ ($)

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